First Love
by Maribaka
Summary: [A birthday present for one of my good friends, PhantomWolfies!] Alviss has always watched Dorothy, always secretly admired her. But will his feelings be returned after saving her from a near-death experience?


_It was difficult to consider that he was the sort of person for this._

* * *

Alviss was on his own, today. Most of Team MÄR was out for the War Games. Ginta and Dorothy, especially. He had fought well yesterday, and was given a break today. So instead, he decided to watch.

At the moment, Dorothy was having her fun, battling it out with one of the Knights. Alviss would grin a little as he watched her enjoy herself, using all of her special ÄRMs and her sassing; she was hard to best, and he admired that about her. The way nothing ever stopped her or kept her down for long; how she would always get back up even if she were wounded to the point that her body no longer wished to stand, and how, even in the worst of moments, she could still pull out a wretched nickname for her opponent. She was a strong young woman, and Alviss acknowledged this.

_It's good that she's on our side._ He'd thought, once.

That thought still remained true even till this day, and his happiness of having her as a teammate rather than an enemy only grew after each and every battle she was in. Dorothy and Alviss, himself, were two of the only few Team MÄR members that had gone completely undefeated so far, and who would probably remain as such.

When today's matches were over and the fighters were sent home, Dorothy celebrated her win with her usual tackling of Ginta and kissing all over his face. Alviss did his best to pretend not to notice, but even Snow could tell that he was aware of the situation and didn't like it; however, she didn't comment.

Snow was a little more observant of people than most, due to how much she cared about others and wanted to make sure everyone was happy. So, of course, she'd notice if something was up with one of her friends, but even as she noticed the faint change in Alviss' expression every time the witch obsessed over their team's leader, she thought it wasn't her business and that she had no right to say anything about it. But, she did worry in secret.

That is, for just awhile longer.

* * *

"Hey, Alviss, can I ask you something?"

The CrossGuard looked at the princess in slight surprise, though interested in what it was she felt she needed to question him about.

"Sure. What's up?"

"Do you, perhaps, like Dorothy?"

Alviss felt as though he were nearly about to choke at hearing this, but being the type of person he was, he didn't let his shock show in his expression, and instead remained calm.

"What makes you ask something like that, Snow?"

"I've seen the way you look whenever she's with Ginta…" The princess explained, a little nervous and feeling bad for invading someone's privacy. "It's not as obvious as, say, Jack's or Nanashi's reactions, but still, I noticed."

He looked at her for a moment, then turned his head and closed his eyes, arms crossed against his chest while he leaned on a wall.

"I suppose I can't hide anything from you." A light smile spread on his lips. "Well, I'm not so sure yet, myself. But I think that you may be right."

Snow was silent for a moment, staring at him and studying his expression, his tone, his actions, his aura. He seemed to have been telling the truth; after all, this _was_ Alviss, and he never lied; but he also appeared rather innocent about this subject. Could it be that Dorothy was his first love? With all that he'd been through since he was ten; what with meeting Phantom, being possessed by the Zombie Tattoo, training to become stronger, and now fighting in the war; he probably didn't have enough time to really think about love. It was a little sad, she thought.

"Alviss," With a smile, Snow held up her hands in fists before her, as if excited and full of energy. "I'll support you! I hope things go well with Dorothy!"

He smiled back at her softly, in return, and nodded. "Thank you, Snow."

* * *

A week had passed. Alviss still hadn't been given enough time, nor chances, to talk to Dorothy about his feelings. The war was getting a lot more serious now, and he had to think about the fate of the world, not the future that may be waiting for him. The Chess Pieces were getting restless, to the point that they were attacking people outside of matches again, like when they went on a rampage to announce that the War Games were starting once more.

They'd attacked the towers in Caldia to steal ÄRMs, towns and ports just to cause terror, and killed people for the sake of killing them. It was as though they didn't want to wait for the results of the battles, and instead wanted to take the world for themselves right here, right now. But Team MÄR would never allow that. And so, they fought them each and every day, no breaks, no days off.

Dorothy and Alviss were teamed up in one town to take down a handful of Chess, while their other teammates were spread out through the rest of the world. If it weren't for their Andatas, this wouldn't have even been possible.

"Alviss! Left!" Dorothy warned.

Alviss dodged a weapon that was thrown at the exact side she had mentioned, and ran at the one who'd tossed it, beating him with his Totem Pole Rod. He then glanced over his shoulder, at the witch, and his eyes went wide.

"Dorothy, get down!" He called, but his warning had come a bit too late.

Normally, Dorothy was as great at dodging as Alviss, and almost nothing could touch her. But this time, she wasn't given a good enough chance to avoid being attacked, and a sword went straight through her back and out her stomach. The male in front of her stood and watched with horror in his ever-widening eyes, as her blood splattered on the ground.

Though he hesitated slightly, Alviss then made his way towards the Chess Piece and tore him away from the witch, snapping his blade in half and head-butting him so hard that a wound opened up on both of their foreheads, crimson trickling down their skin, but only the Chess dropped to the ground.

Alviss soon went back to Dorothy, checking on the witch's condition. She was breathing heavily and was bleeding harshly. As he had feared, neither of them had a healing ÄRM on them, and all he could do was watch her suffer.

"Dorothy…" He took one of her hands in both of his and squeezed it tightly, a look of despair slowly changing his features. "I won't let you die. I absolutely cannot allow that."

"Al...viss…" She said in a weak tone, blood trailing down her mouth. She looked at him with eyes that were losing their light. "I'm...sorry…"

It took all of his strength not to cry. "Listen, Dorothy," He tried. "I know this isn't the time for it, but… I really care about you. No, I suppose it would be better to say that I love you; that I have _always_ loved you. That's why I will not allow you to die. You're a friend and an amazing woman and someone that this team, this _world_, needs; and whether you recognize my feelings or not, I won't give up on your life."

With those words finally spoken, Alviss scooped the witch up in his arms gently; one around the middle of her back, the other under her knees; and held onto her firmly as he ordered Andata to return them to Reginlief Castle. Upon arriving, he walked around and called for Snow; who, thankfully, was still here and not out fighting; and asked that she heal Dorothy.

It was difficult, due to the wound being so deep and Snow still learning to heal serious wounds, but she did the best that she could. The wound did not vanish entirely, but sealed up and stopped bleeding, no longer a threat to the witch's life. Still, she would need to rest for a few days, or until the princess had regained enough magical power to finish off the healing.

For now, Alviss carried Dorothy to the room in the castle that all of Team MÄR shared, and carefully laid the witch upon her bed, gently pulling the covers over her and sitting on the edge, staring down at her.

"Thank god, you're alright." He brushed his hand lightly over her forehead, pushing her bangs aside. "I don't know what I would have done if I'd lost you."

"Say...Alviss?" Dorothy questioned, slowly. "What you said earlier...was it true?"

Alviss blinked, surprised for but a second, before his expression softened into a warm smile with a very light, almost unnoticeable, flush on his cheeks. "Yeah. I meant every word." He confirmed. Though, his smile held a bit of sadness behind it as he then added, "But you don't need to keep it in mind. If you're happier with Ginta, I'll support you."

"Ginta...is just a friend." She admitted, to his surprise. "I have no romantic interest...in Ginta."

He wondered if she were tired or not thinking straight due to her wound, or if what she said was really how she felt; it was hard to tell. Alviss felt a mixture of delight and despair as he thought about it, but you wouldn't be able to see that in his eyes.

"I like Ginta, of course. But I don't _love_ him." She went on, sitting up just slightly, even against her pain. She pressed her palm to his cheek and smiled a bit weakly. "Rather, I love _you_."

Alviss' face turned more noticeably red at this, but he leaned into her touch and closed his eyes. "I have loved and longed for you for quite some time, now; I always admired your beauty and your strength from afar, in silence. The way your eyes outshine even the sun, and the way your laughter out sings the birds. How your strength outdoes that of an army of men, and your pride outgrows your reputation. I have loved everything about you." He said, softly.

"However, when I watched you and the way you acted with Ginta; the way you tackled and clung onto him, how happy you looked and sounded whenever you saw him; I thought he was the one you cared about most. And I hate to admit it, but I was jealous of him."

"Ginta...is important. He's the first person I met before the war, and he amazed me greatly. He's our team's leader, and the only hope left for this world. But he's not my first love." Dorothy, leaning in closer again, whispered against his lips, "You are." And then, she stole a kiss.

The gesture sent a chill down his spine and sparks in his chest, and a warmth that spread with a bright redness across his face like a wildfire; a sensation he'd normally rather not have, one that he would find embarrassing, but one that he now accepted and welcomed. And with that, he leaned down further and returned the kiss, feeling complete with his feelings no longer unrequited.


End file.
